Dietary diversity and its determinants: A community-based study among adult population of Durgapur, West Bengal

Introduction: Proper diet is essential from the very early stages of life for proper growth and development. Increasing the variety of foods and food groups in the diet helps to ensure adequate intake of essential nutrients. The study was conducted with the objective to assess the dietary diversity pattern and to find the association between dietary diversity score and selected sociodemographic variables among adult population, if any. Materials and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted between December 2016 and January 2017 among 216 adults with the help of dietary diversity questionnaire from rural and urban field practice area of the Department of Community Medicine, IQ City Medical College, Durgapur, West Bengal, India. Pearson's Chi-square test, Mann–Whitney U-test, and binary multivariable logistic regression analysis were performed using SPSS software. Results: The median dietary diversity score of the participants was 6. Nearly 45.4% of participants had adequate dietary diversity scores. Most common food groups consumed by the participants were starchy staples (100%), followed by oil and oil-based items (99.5%) and milk and milk products (86.1%). Age, residency, type of family, and occupation have a significant association with adequate dietary diversity. Conclusion: Awareness program on dietary diversity should be organized to make people aware about the importance of dietary diversity. Proper diet is essential from the very early stages of life for proper growth and development. Increasing the variety of foods and food groups in the diet helps to ensure adequate intake of essential nutrients.